It Started With a Scent

Twelve Reasons Why

She dreamt about him that night.

When she woke up, claws tearing into her bed sheet, growl ripping out of her throat as she lay face down, nose stuffed in between the folds of her coat- the same coat that Jason had rubbed his scent all over- she realised that being 'just friends' with him was going to be harder than she thought.

Now that she'd had a taste, she didn't know how she'd be able to bear being in his presence.

She would respect his wishes though.

He had said something about being out of wack hormonally, the fact that he was worried he'd hurt her, that he had hurt people in the past, so she decided to take his admittance seriously.

She would get over it. 

Get over the bond that had buried itself so deep inside of her to where she couldn't distinguish between instinct and her own desires.

She was lying to herself.

She knew exactly where instinct ended and her own wants began. 

Somewhere along the line she had become interested in him as a person. The curiosity to find out what made him tick and what made him afraid of himself went deeper than scent compatibility.

In the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter anymore.

A mating had always been off the cards.

---

"We kissed." Rachael blurted, a few hours into her shift.

The stress had been building up inside her all day until she couldn't hold the words in anymore. She needed to vent, to let it all out.

She had been doing well at first, the diner had been busier than usual, people enjoying the remainder of the holidays before the new year hit. The bustle had kept her mind occupied, more worried about making sure she was getting orders right than her love life. It was easy not to angst when your biggest concern was walking in a straight line so you didn't drop plates of food.

The distraction hadn't lasted though, and once again, when the stream of customers entering to the diner had dulled down to a trickle, her mind became occupied with thoughts of the previous night.

Tina's eyes almost buggered out of her head at her confession, even though she had been giving Rachael crazed looks all day, obviously smelling the scent Jason left ingrained on her skin. She clutched Rachael's shoulders and looked her up and down like she couldn't believe the girl was standing in front of her.

"You didn't." Tina gasped. "I just thought you smelled so strongly of him because he gave you a lift home."

"We did." Rachael groaned. "It was so perfect, it's unfair."

"And you're not dead?"

Rachael huffed, thinking her friend was being just a tad dramatic. 

"No. He pushed me away and hyperventilated out the window for a bit. When he calmed down, he told me about his... problem; and that he had hurt people before, then we put it behind us."

Tina's horror increased. "What do you mean, you put it behind you?"

"I mean," she sighed, "that we decided to just be friends and then I jumped out of his car as fast as I could."

Tina had to take a seat. "Amazing..." She said, sounding like her mind was in a far away place.

"What?"